A petition to have the New York City Department of Education reschedule parent teacher conferences scheduled for St. Patrick’s Day, March 17, has been launched on Change.org.
The petition states, “Brian O’Dwyer, senior partner at O’Dwyer and Bernstien, announced on February 19 that the firm filed, on behalf of Frank J. Schorn, a teacher in the public schools of New York, a charge at the New York City Human Rights Commission alleging that the New York City Department of Education had violated Schorn’s civil rights by scheduling parent teacher conferences on St. Patrick’s Day of 2016.
“Schorn and other Irish American teachers in the New York City school system are obligated by contract to participate in parent teacher conferences. As a result of this scheduling, Irish American teachers have been denied the opportunity to participate in the New York City St. Patrick’s Day parade in particular. The parade has been found by the United States Courts to be not only a celebration of Irish heritage but a religious activity celebrating the feast day of the patron saint of the Archdiocese of New York, St. Patrick.”
As of Tuesday afternoon, the petition had 738 signatures.
A spokesperson for the Department of Education said that the conferences wouldn’t be rescheduled.
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